Director Lee Daniels, Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker attend Lee Daniels' " The Butler" New York Premiere After Party at The Bowery Hotel on August 5, 2013 in New York City.

Director Lee Daniels, Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker attend Lee Daniels' " The Butler" New York Premiere After Party at The Bowery Hotel on August 5, 2013 in New York City.

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Talking about his drama 'Lee Daniels' The Butler,' in which Forest Whitaker plays a fictionalized version of a real butler who worked in the White House for more than three decades, the titular director says, "I did this movie because I needed to understand why it was that I get followed in stores." However, it must be noted that the movie opening Friday mentions a wide variety of key moments in the civil rights movement without providing detail on them--or looking at why race relations haven't advanced farther amid all the other progress in the modern era. At the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the 53-year-old, Oscar-nominated filmmaker ('Precious') talked about directing Oprah (who plays the butler's wife), balancing history and entertainment and addressing current problems on screen. -- Matt Pais Click here for the full Q&A

Talking about his drama 'Lee Daniels' The Butler,' in which Forest Whitaker plays a fictionalized version of a real butler who worked in the White House for more than three decades, the titular director says, "I did this movie because I needed to understand why it was that I get followed in stores." However, it must be noted that the movie opening Friday mentions a wide variety of key moments in the civil rights movement without providing detail on them--or looking at why race relations haven't advanced farther amid all the other progress in the modern era. At the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the 53-year-old, Oscar-nominated filmmaker ('Precious') talked about directing Oprah (who plays the butler's wife), balancing history and entertainment and addressing current problems on screen. -- Matt Pais Click here for the full Q&A (Getty)

Talking about his drama 'Lee Daniels' The Butler,' in which Forest Whitaker plays a fictionalized version of a real butler who worked in the White House for more than three decades, the titular director says, "I did this movie because I needed to understand why it was that I get followed in stores." However, it must be noted that the movie opening Friday mentions a wide variety of key moments in the civil rights movement without providing detail on them--or looking at why race relations haven't advanced farther amid all the other progress in the modern era. At the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the 53-year-old, Oscar-nominated filmmaker ('Precious') talked about directing Oprah (who plays the butler's wife), balancing history and entertainment and addressing current problems on screen. -- Matt Pais Click here for the full Q&A